


High Strung...Literally

by ChroniclesOfJan



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Burrowlander, Cliffhangers, Fantasy, Friendship, Hope, Human, I'm Bad At Summaries, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm trying my best, Inktober 2020, Kidnapping, Orcs, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Universe, POV First Person, POV Original Character, POV Original Female Character, Random & Short, Vampires, Vampyr, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:02:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26981095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChroniclesOfJan/pseuds/ChroniclesOfJan
Summary: Being chained up in a tree was really not what I was expecting when I had woken up that morning, but life in the woods was never normal.
Kudos: 1
Collections: Inktober 2020 - Fantasy Type





	High Strung...Literally

**Author's Note:**

> One day (hopefully not October 31st) I will actually be all caught up and posting the right day. Until then...shush. I actually really like this one and it may be my favorite in the fantasy collection. I hope you all enjoy Day 10: Hope.

Being chained up in a tree was really not what I was expecting when I had woken up that morning, but life in the woods was never normal.

Let me rewind a bit.

It had been a normal few days. Argnuk, Photutus, and I making good time getting out of burrowlander territory. Our next closest territory belonged to the merfoulk, right on the edge of the opposite end of the woods that I had entered. There, I would be able to meet with hopefully some merfoulk, and maybe even find a siren amongst them.

As we traveled further and further into the foliage I once again felt like we weren’t alone. The birds flapping above our heads were much louder and there seemed to be more animals than usual. Yet no matter where I looked, I couldn’t find a single bird. My paranoia was starting to get to my friends.

“You’re acting like a pup! Would you just relax? There is nothing watching us! Don’t you think I would have heard it, stupid?!” 

“It is ok Amethyst, I promise! My ears would have heard anything strange, and between you and me,” Photutus leaned closer, opting to sit on my shoulder as we traveled that day, “Argnuk over there is too smelly for anyone to attack us.”

“WHY, YOU LITTLE VERMIN!”

I smiled at their antics. In their own special ways, I knew that was about as reassuring as I could get. So I allowed myself to relax. I had a burrowlander with enhanced senses sitting on my shoulder and a bloodthirsty (and begrudgingly protective) orc just a few steps ahead of me. Not to mention, I was pretty darn handy with the dagger on my hip. I was no lightweight after all. It would all be fine.

***

More famous last words had never been spoken. 

It had started off simple enough. We had stopped to make camp for the night, admittingly a bit later than usual, with the sky already turning a hazy purple. With no real time to write down my observations with the quickly setting sun, I volunteered to go pick up tender for our fire while Argnuk hunted and Photutus set up camp.

As I ventured further and further into the woods, and the noises of Photutus padding around became fainter, I once again had a sense of dread. But why? With one arm full of sticks, I flicked my other hand over the hilt of the dagger, gripping the base. It was fine. I was just spooked after so long in the woods.

I heard them before I saw them. The swish of a branch was my only warning before I was surrounded by pale and sickly creatures. I backed up, my back hitting a nearby tree. 

“Stay back,” I warned, dropping my sticks to brandish the knife. Their black eyes trained on me as the circle around me grew tighter. “I’m warning you, my party will notice if I’m missing. Let me walk free and I’ll leave you be.” My knuckles turned white from strain as one creature,  _ ‘Vampyr’ _ my mind helpfully added, stepped closer. He smirked at me, flashing the barest hint of the razor sharp incisors I knew were hidden behind his lips. 

“I like feisty humans,” he turned. “Let’s go.” That last part was an order before the other four descended on me. I knew there was no way to beat them all, but that didn’t mean I would walk willingly to my grave. As they dragged me away, I tried to scramble away, and as they went to knock me out, I let out one last scream.

“ARGNUK!”

After that I blacked out. When I came to I was strung high in the trees. Trapped in a cage suspended in the canopy. The vampyr camp sat below me, with a majority of the vampyr transformed into bats to sleep for the day. I didn’t dare risk waking them up

  
_ ‘Argnuk, Photutus,’  _ I pleaded,  _ ‘please find me in time.’ _ It was quickly becoming clear that the burrowlander and orc were my only hope of getting out of here alive.


End file.
